Which OS Windows or Linux?

Windows XP
The first problem is trying to do a comparison between Linux and Windows is simply that there is no like for like versions.

Windows 7 is the latest in a longish line of Microsoft products that has included the inovative Windows 95, Windows 98 which introduced USB support, Windows 2000 and the workhorse of the lot Windows XP; an OS which reaches its tenth year and third service pack this year (2011)

But on the dark side of OSes, it also includes Windows ME and the now infamous Vista neither of which did anything to improve the stock at Redmond.

For the geek there was also Windows NT, the kernel around which everything from Windows 2000 (W2K) to Win7 has been based. A good friend pointed me in NT's direction when I was using W98 and it certainly offered many advantages over what I had been using previously.

On the other side of the divide we have Linux with its literally hundreds of variations - at time of writing, Distro Watch was listing somethng like 400 variations of the core Linux kerne, known in the trade as "distros" or distributions. These distros vary hugely: from the mighty Ubuntu supported by a millionaire Mark Shuttleworth, to something like VortexBox a Fedora-based distribution that turns an unused computer into an easy-to-use music server or jukebox.

Somewhere in the middle are NAS (Network Attached Storage) and system recovery OSes and micro distros like DSL (Damn Small Linux) a serviceable distro less than 50mb in size.

See also Kubuntu Xubuntu, LinuxMint and PCLinuxOS)

Many use the Gnome desktop environment, similar in some ways to what you might expect to see on XP others use a style of desktop style called KDE (K Desktop Environment  offering a little more in the way of eye candy for the more powerful machine.

I'll talk about the differences between the Gnome and KDE in another article.

No comparisons.

All well and good so how do you compare the two? Well the simple answer is you don't! Any attempt to try and you are faced with two implacable enemies. On one side the Linux fanbois, all convinced that Linux is the only possible salvation from the PC Great Satan Bill Gates and all his unholy works and on the other Windows advocates all convinced that Linux in any shape or form is a piece of junk,  good only for the sort of user that prefers his PC to be the metaphorical equivalent of the car in the garage on four bricks awaiting that essential spare part.

The Magnificent (Windows) 7

While I tend towards the Linux side of the divide, I would be the first to admit that Win7 is a well put together OS but I would say that with some reservations.

Let me explain: basically If your computer (rig in geek speak) is the latest model 64 bit capable with 4mb of RAM or more and running a nice fast processor, perhaps an i5 or i7 and it has Windows 7 - then stop reading now! You have arrived! Good OS, fast machine, plenty of processing power. You have everything you need until something better comes along.

If on the other hand you are struggling with XP on a 512mb RAM machine with a Pentium dual core or less then read on...

And in the real world.

While its possible that you are reading this in possession of an i9 CPU on a 64 bit machine with 8gb or more of RAM, terrabyte storage and a state of the art graphics card.It's more likely you are chugging along with the increasingly long in the tooth XP on a P4 machine with a gig of less of RAM and onboard Gfx Despite what I see in the PC mags it's more likely to be an old Dell or similar which appears on my work bench because its getting slow.

If that's the case then moving to a Linux OS could do you a big favour.

In general installing a Linux distro will make your rig perform better. This is because of the way that Linux addresses memory, stores information and generally gets the job done.

If you opt for one of the better known distros, probably something from Mr Shuttleworth and company then the chances are you will come away with a mature piece of software with a full suite of applications and that just about everything you need will be there out of the box.

Does what it says on the tin!

I do mean everything - unlike Windows, most of what you need to write letters, do your spreadsheet calculations, watch DVDs and listen to CDs come with the distro. All Linux applications and software in what are known as the repos (software repositories) can be accessed free of change from any internet connected machine. And frankly because its share of the market is much smaller than either Windows or Apple it tends to get far less attention from the virus makers.

As the user all you need to do is get your hands on a CD (See my buying link) and pop it in your machine. The OS will load to RAM only as a demo version.

If you like what you see click on the install icon. If you don't or your hardware and that distro are not compatible (it happens) then shut down and pop the CD and you have whatever was on there in the first place untouched or tampered with.

Distros like Ubuntu are sufficiently clever to work out that a Windows OS is present and will offer to do a dual boot for you if they detect the other OS. All you need to decided is how much space you want to give each using a simple slider and graphical tool Ubuntu will do the rest.

However there are some limitations, firstly no matter what fanbois might claim Linux and games do not play nice together. The majority of PC games are built for Windows and not Linux and while its possible to get them to work, to be honest its not worth the hassle. Other software used by Windows can be made to work under emulation but again its probably less trouble to buy the other OS. Performance will be poor and I doubt emulation will run top rated games no matter what you do.

In addition, on older machines, Linux installs with all the bells and whistles we have come to expect of Windows XP will be as hard work on your RAM as its Microsoft cousin and unless you take some care to ensure that your open source formats are changed to Windows proprietary ones, the chances are your spreadsheet and reports will be met with puzzled looks in the average office.

So where do that leave us?

New machine, 64bit loads of RAM, quad core processor Win7. Probably not worth it, you have a great machine and great OS. Dual boot if you want a back up OS and install Linux only if you are fed up of AV scans and shutting down your PC everytime something changes in the system.

Older machine, could be worth it on a dual core machine five years old or more. Consider Ubuntu or something similar but be warned if you are gamehead stick with Mr Gates, at least for now.

Old rigs, P4 and below, the family workhorse with XP onboard, half a gig of RAM 250gig of storage or less. Shove on Ubuntu and watch it fly or do a dual boot and leave XP on for gaming.

Ancient machines: There are lightweight distro out there that may work with your hardware. Check out Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux along with Xubuntu. But it's worth bearing in mind that smaller lighter distros will lack the bells and whistle you may have come to expect. As always the choice is yours.

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